US considering diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympic-Biden

President Joe Biden on Thursday said he was considering a US diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, in what would be an attempt to show toughness over China's rights abuses without impacting US athletes. Biden told reporters while meeting with Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, at the White House. The Beijing Olympics take place next February. Some U.S. lawmakers have urged a diplomatic boycott to show American disapproval of recent Chinese economic and military actions and the country’s human-rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Biden and Chinese President Xi Jingping didn’t discuss the Olympics during a 3.5-hour-long virtual summit on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said after Biden’s remark. In response to a question, Psaki said she didn’t have an update on what the U.S. presence would be. “We have serious concerns about the human rights abuses we’ve seen in Xinjiang,” she said. “And certainly there are a range of factors as we look at what our presence would be.”  Psaki said the White House sees US-China relations "through the prism of competition, not conflict." However she added "we have serious concerns" about human rights. "The United States must implement a complete and total boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The threat to our athletes and China's crimes against humanity leave us no other option," Republican Senator Tom Cotton tweeted Thursday.